Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer primarily affects older men, and has increased in line with the number of elderly in the population. Prostate cancer is malignant tumors that originate from glands and ducts of the prostate gland. Prostate cancer often does not cause symptoms at the beginning of the disease phase.
From the first half of the 1990s to the mid-2000s, there has been a sharp increase in detected cases of prostate cancer in all age groups, with the exception of 0–54 years.
Risk factors
The cause of prostate cancer is not known. It is believed that inheritance plays a role in up to 10 percent of cases, and there is a greater risk of getting the disease if several family members (brother, father, grandfather) have or have had the disease. This is especially true if the relatives have become ill at a relatively young age (before 65–70 years).
Previous cancer is also assumed to increase the risk of prostate cancer.
Furthermore, we know that Western way of life has some significance. Body fat is the single factor that has shown the clearest association with an increased risk of advanced prostate cancer. It is unclear what role diet has. It appears that men who eat a lot of red meat, high-fat foods, and little fruits and vegetables have a slightly higher risk of getting prostate cancer. Some studies have suggested that men who consume a lot of calcium through food or supplements may be at an increased risk, while most studies have not found such a connection. Calcium has other important health benefits, and a healthy and varied diet is recommended.
Sex hormones (androgens) are not in themselves carcinogenic, but may be of importance.
Source: World Cancer Research Fund
Read about risk factors on kreftforeningen.no
Read about cancer prevention at kreftregisteret.no
New cases
5258 men contracted prostate cancer in Norway in 2023. The number of cases per 100,000 people is 172.3.
Between 2019 and 2023, 48.9 % of cases were detected at an early, localised stage, while 30.5 per cent were detected in a regional stage and 9.1 per cent had distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis.11.5 % had an unknown stage at diagnosis.
Age distribution
From the first half of the 1990s to the mid-2000s, there has been a sharp increase in prostate cancer in all age groups. About 90 percent of those who get prostate cancer are 60 or older.
The median age for prostate cancer is 70 years, which means that half of all those diagnosed are over 70 years of age.
Incidence rate for prostate cancer (per 100,000 person-years) for different age groups (1970–2023), and by stage at diagnosis. Fig. 2.3 from Annual Report for the Norwegian Prostate Cancer Registry 2023 (Norwegian only).
Survival
The figure shows prostate cancer survival by age and number of years since diagnosis. From figure 8.1-P in Cancer in Norway 2023.
Five-year relative survival from prostate cancer is high (95.8 %). The corresponding figure was just over 50 % in the early 1970s.
Men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early stage have better five-year relative survival compared to men without prostate cancer. This may be related to the fact that these men have more regular health check-ups and better health than the general population.
Five-year relative survival for men diagnosed with prostate cancer without distant metastasis, is 102.5 %, while relative survival for those with distant metastasis is significantly lower; 47.7 %.
Survivors with prostate cancer
As of 31.12.2023, 63,702 of the patients, who at some point in their medical history were diagnosed with prostate cancer, were alive in Norway.
From the mid-1990s, there has been an increase in prostate cancer survival. The number of men living with prostate cancer has nearly doubled over the past 10 years.
Number of deaths
973 men died of prostate cancer in Norway in 2022.
Development over time
The steady increase in life expectancy among men has led to a sharp increase in the number of men who have or have had prostate cancer.
The figure shows trends in incidence (dark blue), mortality (light blue) and 5-year relative survival (green) from prostate cancer in the period 1965-2023. From figure 9.1-O in Cancer in Norway 2023.
There was over four times as high incidence of prostate cancer in 2023 as in the 1950s and the number of cases is increasing in all age groups. However, the main reason for this high number is that we are living longer than before. Prostate cancer is primarily a disease that affects the elderly, and almost half of all cases occur among men over 74 years of age. The proportion of the population in this age group is steadily increasing.
Some of the increase in recent years can be attributed to testing for Prostate-specific Antigen (PSA). This test, and accompanying tissue sampling, has led to the diagnosis of more cases of prostate cancer that previously would not have been detected. Factors such as age, heredity, hormones, environment and lifestyle appear to have a bearing on the development of the disease. For the prevention of the disease, men are recommended to follow the general recommendations for diet, physical activity and tobacco use.
Norwegian Prostate Cancer Registry
The Prostate Cancer Registry was granted national status in 2009, and has data from 2004 onwards. The Cancer Registry of Norway is responsible for data processing and works together with the professional community to develop the registry. The purpose of the Prostate cancer registry is to contribute to strengthen the quality of the health care provided to patients with prostate cancer.
Read more about the Norwegian Prostate Cancer Registry
The registry collects data on assessment and treatment of this patient group. The purpose is to use the data from the registry to illustrate practice in hospitals, which can be of help in assessing practice in individual hospitals and for the patient group as a whole.
Find annual reports for the Prostate Cancer Registry (Norwegian only)
Patient-reported results
There is uncertainty about the benefit of treatment in many patients with prostate cancer. Involving patients in choice of treatment is therefore crucial. In 2017, the Cancer Registry of Norway launched a project to measure patients' perception of treatment outcomes, PROM of prostate cancer, supported by the Movember campaign.
The Cancer Registry of Norway started collecting patient-reported data from prostate cancer patients in 2022 through a digital population survey on health and quality of life. A control group consisting of men of the same age, but who have never had prostate cancer, is also invited. The Cancer Registry of Norway reached 89 % of newly diagnosed patients and 84 % of the control group with the digital survey in 2022. 54 % of patients and 35 % of the control group who received a digital invitation to the first round of the population survey participated.
Prostate Cancer Population Survey.
Results are published in the annual report from the Prostate Cancer Registry. In addition, articles are published in professional journals.
Prostate cancer patients who are treated with prostatectomy or monitored with active surveillance report equally good health and quality of life and the same degree of fatigue as men of the same age who have never had prostate cancer.
The patients who receive radiation treatment report somewhat poorer health and quality of life and somewhat more fatigue, which may be associated with some of the patients also receiving hormone treatment. Those treated with radiation reported the most fatigue one year after diagnosis.
The patients who received radiotherapy and radical prostatectomy reported poorer sexual function than the other groups one and three years after diagnosis. Patients who participated after three years and had active surveillance as primary treatment reported poorer sexual function than those on active surveillance who responded at diagnosis. A likely explanation is that some of the patients underwent surgery or radiotherapy during the three years that had passed since the diagnosis.
Read more about patient-reported results here
Steps you can take to reduce your risk of getting prostate cancer
- Keep a healthy body weight, avoid overweight and obesity
- Be physically active
- Be smoke-free
- Follow rules when handling dangerous substances in the workplace, such as paints, printing inks, metal and machinery, or diesel and traffic pollution
The authorities only recommend those at elevated risk of getting prostate cancer to take a PSA test.
Read more about prevention on kreftforeningen.no
Read more about cancer prevention on kreftregisteret.no
Questions about cancer
The Cancer Registry of Norway is a research institution. Our professionals therefore do not answer questions about diagnosis, assessment, treatment and follow-up from patients or their relatives.
Questions about this should be directed to your own GP, treating institution or the Cancer Society Advisory Service tel: 21 49 49 21
Useful Links
Download or order a brochure about PSA - Prostate-specific Antigen on helsedirektoratet.no
